Chapter 21
BOND
Seraphina
The shadows lower me gently, then guide me downward until I'm kneeling before him, my eyes level with the obvious arousal straining against his trousers. My heart pounds, defiance and desire warring within me.
"I don't take orders," I say, but my hands are already reaching for the fastenings of his clothing, desperate to please. I want him in my mouth as I clench my thighs together, more slick coating my legs.
His laugh is low and knowing, pure satisfaction. "And yet here you are, so fucking eager to obey this particular command."
I want to hate him for his arrogance, but as I free him from the confines of his clothing, all coherent thought abandons me. He's magnificent—hard and ready, thick and perfect, shadows swirling around the base like a possessive caress.
My hands move of their own accord, stroking him with deliberate slowness. I'm rewarded with a sharp intake of breath, his shadows flickering with pleasure, his scent flooding with arousal.
"Fuck, stop teasing me," he warns, fingers tangling in my hair.
I look up, meeting his gaze with newfound boldness. "Why not? You've teased me plenty."
Without waiting for his response, I lean forward, taking him into my mouth all the way to the back of my throat, tasting the salt of him, breathing in his scent.
His grip tightens in my hair, a growl escaping him that sounds more beast than man.
The sound emboldens me, and I take him deeper, establishing a rhythm that has his shadows writhing with barely contained desire.
"Gods," he hisses, his composure cracking for the first time since I've known him. "Your mouth...perfect, so fucking perfect..."
The praise sends a fresh wave of heat through me, more slick coating my thighs. I hollow my cheeks, increasing the suction as I work him with my mouth and hands. His hips begin to move in counterpoint to my motions, taking control.
"Look at me," he commands, his voice absolute. Then he grips the back of my head tightly. "Let me fuck your beautiful mouth, I know you can take it. Show me how good you can be."
I wrap my hands around his ass as he drives himself into my mouth with brutal intensity, holding my head by my hair.
I whimper as he takes control, fucking my mouth roughly.
My jaw starts to ache, tears stream down my cheeks every time he hits the back of my throat.
This is cruel, painful, but I'm throbbing so hard like I'm on the edge of another orgasm.
"You're such a good girl, taking me so deeply.
..fuck you're magnificent," he praises, his voice washing over me.
I'm burning, struggling with his size, tears streaming down my cheeks as I meet his gaze, submitting completely.
Malakai looks almost feral, fully in control, while his shadows find my clit and caress it until I'm a whimpering mess.
His breathing grows ragged, signaling his approaching release, so he slows the pace slightly.
Then I feel the salty cum coating my throat as he comes, roaring loudly, his scent flooding the room.
His body convulses, shadows writhing. I take all of him, swallowing hard and licking my lips, purring with satisfaction.
My whole mouth is numb, but his shadows keep caressing my slick sex.
"Fuck, you've done so well and you will be rewarded," he growls, as he lifts me up, still breathing heavily. My head swims, and I need him inside me now, need his knot, need his bite.
"Fuck me Malakai...please," I beg, pushing away all hesitation. "Please. I need you. Need your knot."
He brushes his thumb over my lips and smiles, his fangs gleaming. "With pleasure."
In one fluid motion, he lifts me and carries me backward until my spine meets the cool stone wall. He positions me so that my legs naturally wrap around his waist. "I want your greedy pussy to milk my cock, taking all of me."
The wall is against my back as he presses me against it, but I barely notice, too consumed by the feeling of his cock positioned at my entrance, by his scent overwhelming everything, by the knowledge that this time might be different.
With one powerful thrust, he buries himself to the hilt, drawing cries from both our throats.
"Mine," he growls, establishing a punishing rhythm that has me clinging to his shoulders for support. "Say it. Tell me who you belong to."
"No one," I gasp, even as my body welcomes every thrust. "I belong to no one."
His eyes flash with dark amusement as he adjusts his angle, hitting a spot deep inside me that makes stars explode behind my eyelids. "Liar," he accuses, increasing his pace, slamming into me in and out, stretching me perfectly. "You know the truth even if your mind refuses it."
The room around us becomes a blur of sensation and destruction.
A painting crashes to the floor as the force of his thrusts rattles the wall.
Books tumble from shelves, scattering across the carpet.
I'm dimly aware of the destruction, but can't bring myself to care, too lost in the overwhelming pleasure building within me, too focused on the way I can feel his knot beginning to swell at the base of his cock.
"Malakai," I cry out as he drives into me relentlessly, my body tightening around him with approaching release, feeling his knot growing. "Alpha!"
"That's it," he encourages, his voice rough with exertion. "Come for me again, beautiful one. Let me feel you come on my cock. And then I'm going to knot you, fill you, claim you completely."
The combination of his words and the almost brutal pace, the feeling of his knot beginning to catch on each thrust, pushes me over the edge.
I shatter around him once again, wave after wave of pleasure crashing through me with an intensity that borders on pain, crying out for more, for everything, for the bite.
As I convulse around him, his control finally breaks.
His knot swells fully, locking us together as he slams into me one final time, his fangs grazing my throat dangerously close to my scent gland.
With a roar that seems to shake the very foundations of the room, he slams his fist into the wall beside my head.
Stone cracks beneath the impact, hairline fractures spreading outward, but the wall holds.
But his fangs remain at my throat, not biting, trembling with the effort of restraint even as his knot pulses inside me, even as his release floods me with warmth.
"Please," I hear myself beg, desperate and aching, my body trembling from the intensity of his knot locked inside me. "Please. Bite me. Claim me. I need it. I need you to complete this. Please."
He pulls back slightly, his fangs still descended and gleaming, his eyes wild with need barely restrained.
His whole body is taut, trembling with the effort of holding back.
"Seraphina ," he says, his voice strained, rough.
"Once I bite you, there's no going back.
The bond will be complete, permanent, unbreakable.
You'll be mine forever. Do you understand? Are you sure? I need you to be sure."
"Yes," I sob, frantic with need, clawing at his shoulders, arching my neck to expose my throat more fully. "Yes, I'm sure. I want this. I want you. I want to be yours. Please, bite me. Complete our bond. Make me yours forever."
He searches my eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows hard. His fangs are so close to my throat I can feel them, the sharp points pressing against my scent gland but not yet breaking skin. "Say it again. Tell me you want this."
"I want this," I repeat, my voice clear despite the tears streaming down my face, despite the overwhelming sensation of his knot pulsing inside me. "I want you to bite me. I want to be your mate, completely and forever. Please, Malakai. I'm begging you. Bite me."
Something breaks in his eyes—the last thread of control snapping.
His hand slides into my hair, gripping tightly, pulling my head to the side to expose the full length of my throat. The other hand cups the back of my neck, holding me perfectly still. His scent floods the room—possession, hunger, mine.
"Mine," he snarls against my throat, his breath hot on my skin.
Then his fangs sink in.
The pain is white-hot, sharp and immediate—like being pierced by twin daggers of ice and fire. I cry out, my body going rigid, light magic exploding outward in a burst of golden energy that makes the shadows in the room recoil before surging back with renewed hunger.
But the pain transforms. In a heartbeat, it becomes pleasure so intense I can't breathe, can't think, can only feel. His fangs are buried deep in my scent gland, and I can feel him—feel his mouth working against my throat, feel the pull as he begins to drink.
He's drinking my blood.
The sensation is intimate beyond anything I could have imagined.
Each pull of his mouth sends waves of pleasure radiating through my entire body.
I keen, a high desperate sound, as something fundamental shifts inside me.
The incomplete bond that's been pulling at us both, making us both half-mad with need, suddenly snaps into place.
Complete.
Whole.
Perfect.
The bond floods fully open between us like a dam breaking—no barriers, no walls, no potion-dampened edges.
Just pure, absolute connection. I feel everything he feels as he drinks from me: his possessive love, his desperate relief, his overwhelming satisfaction at finally claiming his mate, the taste of my blood on his tongue—sweet and bright and perfect, made for him.
And he feels me—my surrender, my acceptance, my own feelings that I've been denying for weeks, the pleasure-pain of his bite, the fullness of his knot, the rightness of this moment.